Pr Aces Help Shine Up Tarnished Star Images

When Scandal Strikes Celebrities, Crisis Teams Ride To The Rescue.

April 19, 2004|By Peter Franceschina Staff Writer

When celebrities are being mauled in the jaws of America's scandal-obsessed culture, they don't turn only to high-powered defense attorneys to fend off voracious media and protect once pristine images.

Just as crucial to a Martha Stewart, Kobe Bryant or Rush Limbaugh is an elite corps of public relations managers specializing in crisis intervention and reputation management. They are the behind-the-scenes experts in controlling the tarnish threatening famous figures, and they often command the same expensive fees as top legal talent.

Limbaugh, 53, a Palm Beach resident, was plunged into the scandal sheets on Oct. 2 with a tabloid account by his former housekeeper alleging he was addicted to powerful prescription painkillers. Limbaugh, who is his own media machine, quickly scrambled to contain the damage.Within a week, Limbaugh and his legal and media advisers put the first aspect of their strategy into play: Limbaugh admitted to a painkiller addiction. His first move, the admission, was one public relations executives highly recommend.

"What we say right off the bat to any client in a crisis situation of that kind, we say, `Look, you have some imperatives. One is tell the truth. The second is, tell it all. And the third is, tell it now, don't dribble it out,'" says Frank Mankiewicz, the vice chairman and top crisis manager for the national public relations firm Hill & Knowlton."If you don't tell the truth, sooner or later somebody is going to find it out."

Limbaugh was unusually quiet the day the story broke. He issued a three-line statement saying he was unaware of any investigation by the Palm Beach County State Attorney's Office into his prescription drug use. The media crush was immediate. State Attorney's Office records show prosecutors were flooded the first two days with more than 100 calls from reporters for newspapers, magazines, major networks and cable shows.

On Oct. 10, Limbaugh made an announcement heard around America: "You know I have always tried to be honest with you and open about my life. So I need to tell you today that part of what you have heard and read is correct. I am addicted to prescription pain medication."

The addiction was the result of chronic back pain, and he said he would be taking a monthlong hiatus from his show to enter rehabilitation.

His lawyer, Roy Black, hired Sitrick and Company, a Los Angeles-based public relations firm with a who's who list of such celebrity and corporate clients as Enron, Halle Berry and singer R. Kelly.

Black says he had worked with Sitrick and Company, made up largely of former journalists, in the past.

"You have so many media outlets hungry for information, they are going to put out something crazy unless you get back to them," Black says. "It saves us an enormous amount of time, and we are not skilled in it to begin with."

Limbaugh has not been charged and is waging an appeals fight to keep his medical records from prosecutors after the records were seized from four doctors late last year. Prosecutors are trying to determine whether Limbaugh violated the state's "doctor shopping" law, which makes it illegal to secretly obtain overlapping prescriptions from more than one doctor.

Sitrick associates have helped set up a Miami news conference for Black to address allegations in the case. They passed out favorable Limbaugh stories at a recent appeals court hearing. They field hundreds of media calls, and make sure reporters get information they ask for, such as court documents and transcripts from Limbaugh's radio show when he discusses the case.

For his part, Palm Beach State Attorney Barry Krischer has issued two brief statements on the Limbaugh investigation, saying Limbaugh's rights have been protected at every step. "It is my office policy not to comment on an open police investigation," he said.

Michael Sitrick, founder of Sitrick and Company, says his associates don't try to manage the media, but rather try to put out factual information about a case.

"No one can manage the media. We gather the evidence, we present the facts," Sitrick says. "Ultimately, the facts will prevail."

Some PR executives say Martha Stewart made two mistakes when she came under investigation for her sale of ImClone stock: She lied to federal investigators, and then she disappeared for too long from the public stage after the criminal inquiry began.

She switched PR strategies before she was indicted, and began making carefully chosen television appearances and set up a Web site to get out her side of the case.

"There is the imperative that Martha Stewart demonstrated, which everyone should take firmly in their list of things to do and not to do in a case like that," Mankiewicz says. "When the feds come asking questions, always tell the truth. It is true that the cover-up is often worse than the crime."

Crisis communications specialists say getting a client's story out may not always be the best strategy.